


In every smile and glance

by fenellaevangela



Category: The Tick (TV 2017)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25511527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fenellaevangela/pseuds/fenellaevangela
Summary: A new fiend is plotting against The City. What foul trick does he have up his sleeve?
Relationships: Arthur Everest/The Tick (The Tick)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: Rare Male Slash Exchange 2020





	In every smile and glance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AMintJulep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMintJulep/gifts).



For one second, everything was perfect. He felt like he'd woken up from the best sleep he'd had in years, deep and dreamless, his mind blank and calm.

But then Arthur remembered that the last thing he'd been doing was chasing The Night Hawk through a carnival while The Tick ran circles around his goons. They weren't sure _what_ The Night Hawk's doodads were supposed to do to The City, just that he'd had his people hiding them everywhere and it had taken three nights for Arthur and The Tick to find the ringleader himself. Then, did he bother telling them his master plan? No! Usually these small fry villains loved to explain themselves, if only to tie their grand schemes to their preferred aesthetic, but sometimes you got one who knew better than to let The Tick within arms reach. That was never a good thing, because those masterminds were the clever ones. Those were the ones you had to keep a closer eye on.

And then Arthur realized that he was lying flat on his back in the grass.

In retrospect it was probably the most romantic thirty seconds of his life, but when Arthur opened his eyes it felt like a horrible mistake. The first thing he noticed was the pain; the lights and sounds of the carnival started to crowd his senses immediately and his head throbbed in a way that made him worry faintly if he'd gotten a concussion this time. Then the blissful peacefulness he'd woken up with was swallowed by the sickly familiar feeling of a wave of adrenaline flooding his chest, his heart racing, because he was _in the middle of a chase_! He gasped and tried to heave himself up off the ground to look for The Night Hawk, but when he shifted a bright blue filled his field of vision and Arthur paused.

The Tick was leaning over him, staring down into Arthur's eyes and he looked – worried. That wasn't how The Tick usually looked and seeing that expression on his face made Arthur's chest twinge.

“Oh, thank God it worked,” said Dot. She sounded close, but behind Arthur somewhere, and Arthur found it difficult just then to pry his eyes away from The Tick's own.

“What worked?” he managed to ask. His throat felt a bit raspy.

“I thought it was going to turn into a whole _thing_ ,” Dot continued, moving in next to The Tick and revealing a small worried wrinkle between her brows to match The Tick's expression. “I didn't know what we were going to do! But The Tick really did it, he woke you up.” Then Arthur felt Dot punch him gently on the shoulder. “Why didn't you tell me?”

Those were certainly a lot of words making up the shape of an explanation, but Arthur thought for a moment and couldn't fit them into an answer to his question at all. 

“The Night Hawk - ”

The Tick took Arthur's hand. “No worries, Arthur! The fiend won't slip through our clutches again. To think he wants to do this to the entire City! A vile plan if I ever heard one! We'll capture him – tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” agreed Dot. “Right now we're getting you home so you can recover.”

Arthur liked that idea. The longer he was awake, the more obvious it was to him that he was feeling tired and shaky and needed to rest. But he still hadn't gotten his explanation. 

“But what did The Night Hawk get me with?”

Dot nodded towards a spot on the ground a few feet away from Arthur. If he strained his neck a bit, he could see one of The Night Hawk's doodads sitting there. Its base was extended and its lights – that creepy flickering that had made them so easy to find while trying to track The Night Hawk – were out.

“He had one of his things on him. You must have gotten too close for comfort, because he activated it and managed to get away while it hit you. But the good thing is that we know what they do, now.”

“Which is _what?_ ” 

Dot's face scrunched together, like she couldn't quite believe she was saying this. “It . . . curses you.”

“A witch's curse!” exclaimed The Tick, nodding. “Straight out of a fairy tale, Arthur, with a rhyming spell coming from its speakers. Such a classic evil that any hero would be excited for the chance to vanquish! Fortunately, I was able to cure you right away.”

“What was the cure?” asked Arthur.

A small smile, almost a smirk, spread over Dot's face. That should have been Arthur's first clue.

The Tick took Arthur's hand. “Well, what else? True love's kiss, of course.”

~ * ~

Dot had insisted on helping The Tick get Arthur back to their apartment. Just in case there were any side effects, she said. So it wasn't until they had reached the apartment and Dot made sure he was settled in that Arthur and The Tick had a chance to be alone.

“Um,” said Arthur.

The Tick immediately came over, the bed dipping under his weight as he perched next to Arthur.

“Do you need something, old chum? Don't be afraid to ask! Dot said you should stay in bed, so I'm here to make sure you want for nothing! Can I get you something to eat, perhaps?”

“No, no,” Arthur said. “I don't need anything. I – Tick. You . . .”

“Me . . . ?” The Tick's expression was so open and earnest, Arthur had to look away.

“What did The Night Hawk's spell say?” he asked.

“Well, I don't remember exactly,” The Tick admitted. “It was pretty standard fairy tale fare, though, you know the type! Cursed to a deathlike slumber until awoken by true love's kiss! Huh, classic!” The Tick grinned brightly. “You made a very charming Sleeping Beauty, Arthur.”

Arthur _knew_ he was blushing. 

“How did you know, I mean – argh.” Arthur forced himself to spit it out. “How did you know your kiss would work to break the curse?”

The Tick looked shocked. “Because I love you, Arthur. I thought – it worked, didn't it? Don't you love me back?”

Arthur swallowed thickly. “I didn't realize you knew.”

“Of course I knew! Arthur, you show me every day.”

That was it. Arthur was going to cry. He could feel the happy tears burning his eyes but he didn't care; his body still ached from the curse and his head felt groggy but he didn't care; the only thing that felt important right now was that The Tick _knew_ \- and it was fine. Better than fine. Arthur couldn't stop himself from letting out a short laugh.

“I can't believe our first kiss happened while I was _asleep_ ,” he said.

“Oh!” said The Tick. “I can fix that!”

And he kissed him.

Just like a fairy tale come true.


End file.
